© Reuters. An interrupted signal issue obscures footage during an intercept by a Russian Su-27 military aircraft recorded by a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea on March 14, 2023 in this image still from a video released by the Pentagon. Co
By Bart H. Meijer and Olena Harmash
AMSTERDAM/KYIV (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, alleging Moscow’s forcible deportation of Ukrainian children is a war crime, as the Kremlin reacted with indignation.
Russia has not hidden a program under which it brought thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia but presents it as a humanitarian campaign to protect orphans and abandoned children in the conflict zone.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the move would lead to “historical responsibility”, adding that the deportations were a policy of “state evil which begins precisely with the highest official of this state”.
The announcement provoked a furious reaction from Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia found the very issues raised by the ICC “outrageous and unacceptable”, and that all court rulings were “null and void” with respect to the Russia. Russia, like the United States and China, is not a member of the ICC.
“Yankees, don’t touch Putin!” wrote parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of the president, on Telegram.
“We consider any attack on the President of the Russian Federation as aggression against our country,” he said.
The court also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, on the same charges.
Putin, only the third sitting president to have received an arrest warrant from the ICC, is unlikely to find himself in court anytime soon. But the warrant means he could be arrested and sent to The Hague if he travels to any ICC member state.
“It makes Putin an outcast. If he travels, he risks being arrested. It never goes away. Russia can’t get sanctions relief without complying with the mandates,” said Stephen Rapp, former goodwill ambassador United States for war crimes.
Residents of the Russian capital expressed their disbelief at the news. “Putin! Nobody will stop him,” a man who only gave his name as 20-year-old Daniil told Reuters.
Maxim said: “We will protect him – the Russian people.”
BEIJING, MOSCOW LINKS
Moscow’s forces have been accused of multiple abuses during Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, including by a UN-mandated investigative body which this week described soldiers forcing children to stare at loved ones get raped.
Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces committed atrocities during the invasion, which it calls a special military operation.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan began investigating possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago. He said he was looking into alleged crimes against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure.
News of the arrest warrant came ahead of a planned state visit to Moscow next week by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which is expected to cement much closer Russia-China ties, just as relations between Moscow and the West are hitting new lows.
Beijing and Moscow entered into a “limitless” partnership shortly before the invasion, and US and European leaders have said they fear Beijing will send weapons to Russia.
China has denied any such plans, criticizing Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, which will soon extend to fighter jets after Poland and Slovakia this week approved the deliveries. The Kremlin said the jets would be destroyed and would not change the course of the conflict.
China is keen to deflect Western criticism of Ukraine, but its close ties to Russia and its refusal to label Moscow’s war as an invasion have fueled skepticism about the prospect that Beijing could act as a mediator in the conflict.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby (NYSE:) said on Friday that the United States is deeply concerned that China is trying to promote a ceasefire, as it would not currently lead to a just and lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.
In another diplomatic development related to the war in Ukraine, President Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey’s parliament will start ratifying Finland’s NATO bid, removing the biggest remaining obstacle to alliance expansion. western defence.
BAKHMUT FIGHTS
Ukrainian forces on Friday continued to resist Russian assaults on the crumbling town of Bakhmut, the focal point for eight months of Russian attempts to advance in Ukraine’s eastern industrial Donetsk region on the border with Russia.
Bakhmut became Europe’s bloodiest infantry battle since World War II. Russian forces have captured the eastern part of the city but have not yet managed to encircle it.
On Friday, Russian forces also carried out four airstrikes on the frontline town of Avdiivka, south of Bakhmut, Yermak, Ukraine’s presidential staff chief, wrote on Telegram. “The city is bombarded almost 24 hours a day,” he wrote.
Reuters could not immediately verify these battlefield reports.
Russia denies deliberately attacking civilians, but says it hit infrastructure to degrade the Ukrainian military and eliminate what it sees as a potential threat to its own security.
Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of an unprovoked war to seize territory from its pro-Western neighbor.